ZIMBABWE’S health sector, which has been struggling to maintain basic standards of care, has achieved a rare milestone, recording a significant increase in orthopaedic and paediatric surgeons, NewsDay has established.
Zimbabwe has also faced significant challenges in building its surgical workforce due to limited resources and shortage of trainers.
Speaking during the College of Surgeons East, Central and Southern Africa (COSECSA) official opening and graduation ceremony in Harare yesterday, Health and Child Care minister Douglas Mombeshora said the institution had opened doors to a broad network of training opportunities and resources, resulting in several notable benefits for Zimbabwe.
He also commended COSECSA’s contribution to Zimbabwe’s health sector, where many surgeons have been trained in different specialties in the health sector.
“In 1999, Zimbabwe had 25 orthopaedic surgeons. Today, this number has risen to 48. Forty-two of them have been trained through COSECSA,” Mombeshora said.
“The number of paediatric surgeons has grown from one in 1999 to 88, seven of whom are COSECSA graduates. Before COSECSA, there were no plastic and reconstruction surgeons in Zimbabwe.”
Mombeshora applauded COSECSA for ensuring that Sadc member States retain human resources amid rampant brain drain affecting many African countries.
“Training a surgeon requires significant time and commitment from both the trainee and trainer and considerable financial and capital resources.
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“For this, I commend you all for your dedication in ensuring the continuous growth of a secure, world-class surgical workforce,” he said.
The Health minister acknowledged the increasing number of female surgeons among the graduates.
“This demonstrates that gender is no barrier to surgery or training. I commend COSECSA’s efforts in ensuring gender inclusivity as well as the role of women in surgery in Africa,” he said.
“We serve an affiliate of COSECSA which has encouraged female medical students and professionals and their school careers in surgery.”
Zimbabwe has successfully retained over 96 COSECSA-trained surgeons, who are now serving communities across the country, Mombeshora said.
Melini Baruth, senior director at the Global Medical Education Operation Smile Global, said COSECSA’s 25-year milestone was a testament to its transformative impact on surgical education and healthcare in Africa.
“At Operation Smile, we are honoured to partner COSECSA to build the next generation of surgical leaders. We are also proud to collaborate with Women in Surgery Africa to empower female surgeons to lead the change in driving equitable and accessible surgical care across the continent. Together, we are shaping a future where no one is left behind in accessing life-changing surgery,” she said.
COSECSA programmes span over 14 countries, serving a population of more than 460 million people.
Over the years, it has trained and certified more than 900 surgical specialists and currently over 1 200 surgeons are undergoing training through the college.
